


Stealing a Hero's Heart

by happier



Category: Persona 5, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: Crossover, Crossover Pairings, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, F/M, Heroism, M/M, Multi, Rivals to Lovers, Slow Burn, Teasing, Thief/Hero dynamic, questioning of morals
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-04
Updated: 2021-02-16
Packaged: 2021-03-15 09:35:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 13,055
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29187171
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/happier/pseuds/happier
Summary: What is it to be a thief? A hero? When does a Robin Hood, giving to the poor the crimes of the rich, become worthy of being chased after by a pro hero? Ochaco meets Joker on a strange night, finds him again, and finds herself tangled in a rivalry that will change her life forever.(Persona 5 x BNHA crossover, more pairings to be added.)
Relationships: Kurusu Akira/Uraraka Ochaco, Midoriya Izuku/Takamaki Ann, Other Relationship Tags to Be Added
Comments: 22
Kudos: 44





	1. Chapter 1

It wasn’t unusual for heroes and villains to be pitted against one another; that was the reason heroes existed, after all—to protect the public from the banal carnalities that villains brought with them, their violence and theft and—theft. Heroes are the natural enemies of thieves. Ochaco tries drilling that into her head at five in the morning when she tries to forget that she saw him, the famous phantom thief himself, and failed to apprehend him.

Well, it wasn’t her job yet, and she could forgive herself for that much. She was still in school. Joker, for as close of a look as she got of him, looked to be about the same age. She wrote as much down on the police report they had her fill out. Curly, black hair. A lithe, strong frame. She couldn’t quite describe his clothing—it was dark, but he was masked and wherever he went, a flicker of red and blue flame seem to follow. The police didn’t quite understand that part, but Ochaco said it had to have been a trick of the eye. No one knew Joker’s quirk, and no one was going to learn anytime soon.

She was embarrassed to admit that for someone who could float, he had carried her when he jumped from rooftop to rooftop away from that… thing.

It was an unnatural beast that wriggled with an uncomfortable gait. She’d heard him whisper, call it a shadow—and in leading one into the real world, his weapons wouldn’t do anything against it. A weapon? The cops had asked. What was he carrying? She murmured that he had a gun and a knife and they wrote it down with worrying speed. Armed and dangerous.

Dangerous…?

Had she felt in danger when she encountered Joker?

The other shadows that followed him into the night had split up as they started to run. She hadn’t been able to identify a single one of them, all of them masked and quick as lightning itself. When the fumbling beast called a shadow lunged at her, she was ready to _fight_ , damn it, she had no fear. Joker had given her an impressed whistle when something she sent floating in the air came crashing down on one of the beasts.

“Not bad.”

“You--!”

At first, she didn’t recognize him. A hero, a vigilante? But that mask had been on calling cards sent to criminals, pasted on every single news channel. It had been on the Medjed website and it had been handed out to students to remain ‘ever vigilant’. She was looking at the one and only.

He was gone soon after, as much of a shadow in the night as the beast that the police and local heroes had to put down. Ochaco had been the closest person to get to Joker, and he’d slipped away. She was grilled by the police for hours, because people in power wanted Joker gone because they were afraid of him. People in power seldom did good things to stay there. There was a mix of people in her class who supported and hated the phantom thieves. No one could really make up their mind if their heroism was for the greater good—but Aizawa-sensei had said that if they wanted to make a difference, they could have become pro heroes instead of forcefully changing someone at the core of their mind. That was an act that could be unforgivable in the wrong hands.

But she didn’t feel in danger around Joker.

In fact, when he held her close to leap from building to building, she had distinctly felt the thrill of a hero’s touch.

She started looking into everything about the Phantom Thieves— people who stole hearts from the cruel, the powerful, the liars and scum of the world. Their targets never missed, and for whatever reason, they came out as guilty for their crimes, confessing them to the light of day. That’s why no one could decide if they were heroes or the public enemy— after all, who had the right to that kind of power?

“Ochaco! You’re late!” Iida called out to her as she entered the classroom.

“I… sorry, I had to talk to the police last night.”

“The police?” Deku perked up, suddenly, wondering what they wanted. “Did something happen?”

“Erm… just a run-in with a vigilante. They wanted some info, so I gave it to them.”

She took her seat at the desk and sighed. Today, they’d be out on patrolling assignments— no actual hero work to be done, just… making sure the city streets were safe and to act as their provisional licenses would allow them to do.

As she listened to Aizawa-sensei’s lecture, her mind drifted back to Joker.

A man who lead the Phantom Thieves, with dark, curly hair and piercing red eyes beneath his mask. He was strange, to be sure, but as much as she loathed to admit it, he had the air of charisma that some girls dreamed about— not her, though! If she had to dream of anyone, it’d be Deku, right?

Still, she wanted to meet this Joker again. To thank him, or to arrest him, she wasn’t sure yet.

—

In the dorms, it felt like all everyone could talk about was the Phantom Thieves. Little glimpses of photos caught by paparazzi were the only thing people had to go on about in the online trainwreck that was the Phan-site. Denki had pulled up several pictures, and Deku, ever studious, had been taking notes on the whole thing. Ochaco looked over his shoulder— he’d sketched various parts of their outfits visible in the photos, but under ‘quirks’ was a big question mark. Whatever they did and how they did it, they must have a synchronized quirk that made them— or at least, one of them with the rest as accomplices— able to change the hearts of the wicked.

There were also inconsistencies with the Medjed website, and how they quickly began to change tactics to control things about the Phantom Thieves on their end. It was all very bizarre, and yet…

“Hey Deku,” Ochaco asked, leaning over the sofa where he and Denki were surfing the website. “What do you think of the Phantom Thieves?”

“Well… it seems they do a lot of good with a lot of bad methods. I honestly don’t know what to make of them. I’d like to meet them, though! Whatever quirk they have, it should probably be managed by a pro hero, because forcing people’s will to change against their own will, no matter how bad they are—”

“It depends on what they’ve done, right?”

“…yeah,” Deku agreed, quietly. “Their first target was a school teacher who’s been convicted of sexual assault. I think that’s a good person to change a heart of as any, and the second was someone abusing his students to further his own art career—”

“… a lot of nasty people. Do you think their judgment is sound?”

“I think they haven’t missed the mark yet, but it only takes once, doesn’t it?” Deku said warily. “If they changed the heart of someone who didn’t deserve it, or if someone had the same quirk and decided to misuse it—”

“But there’s never been a quirk like this on record, yeah?”

“There’s similar ones… but none quite like this.” Deku admitted. “Believe me, I’ve done the studying.”

“Come on, don’t you think they’re a little cool?” Denki asked, tapping the screen where a skull-masked vigilante was caught just nearly out of frame. “They dress cool, they make bad guys confess their crimes instead of just throwing them in jail— they’re all right by me.”

“… yeah.” Ochaco relented, just ever so slightly. She wouldn’t mention that she met Joker, just listening quietly to their banter about whether or not the Phantom Thieves were good or not.

It gave her an idea, though it wasn’t her best one. In fact, it could get her into a lot of trouble, but there were hints that the Phantom Thieves could return to places they’d been to before to carry out their heists. She wanted to go back— knowing that at the scene of the dark, empty building, she might have a chance meeting with Joker again— and then she’d…

… apprehend him?

No, it would be better to say she was just curious and didn’t want him to get hurt from that _thing_. She wanted to see him again because he was an enigma onto himself. Asking permission to go to the corner store for a drink, she instead headed down the dark roads towards the building she had been in the other night.

There were police patrolling the area, just as she tipped them off, and she felt just a tinge of guilt for that. As she slipped into the double doors of the building, she found her way walking up the cement footsteps to the place she had last seen him.

And at first, she felt really silly for going back on her word, for lying to her teacher about where she was going, but then, out of a void of red and black and hypnotizing and terrible, out stumbled the man she saw before and— a cat?

“Joker, we got it! That lawyer won’t be—”

It was the cat that spoke, and both of them were transfixed on Ochaco.

She pointed at them, wagging her finger and trying to speak as if she was unsure whether to get the police or not, but Joker simply walked up to her and put a finger to his lips.

“Shh.”

“Wha—”

There was an awkward silence between them, and Joker, beneath his mask, winked at her. In a second, he pulled out something like a grappling hook and hooked it to an open window on this level of the building, picking up the cat and the sparkling gold _thing_ she’d seen him stumble with. Instinct kicking in, she rushed after him, grabbing his ankle and floating along with him as he zipped out the window and onto the next rooftop.

He was already juggling an impressive amount of things, so his landing was inelegant, and his surprise palpable when she stood up and pointed at him, demanding to know why he’d rescued her the evening before from that— that thing.

And for a moment, he debated speaking.

“… Because it was the right thing to do, of course.”

Well, that caught her off guard, for him to be so frank. Still, she crossed her arms, embarrassingly aware that she was in a jacket and pajama pants while having a confrontation with _the_ Joker.

“Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t turn you in!” It wasn’t as if she really wanted to turn him in, she just thought— well, a good threat never hurt when it came to getting information.

“Because you’ll fall madly in love with me.”

“WHA—?!”

“I’m kidding, I’m kidding,” Joker laughed, even as Morgana bit his hand for such a dumb joke. “But… you want people to do the right thing, even through the wrong channels, don’t you?”

“There should always be a— I mean…”

“Would someone ever apprehend a teacher who was too valuable to the school without him confessing first?” Joker pushed up his mask slightly. “Or a teacher who took advantage of his students freely and—”

“I know,” She said, finally, crossing her arms. “I know. I know it isn’t all that easy, doing the right thing. I’ve seen it so many times. I’ve seen my best friends break the rules just to protect me.” She huffed, puffing out her cheeks. “But— what you’re doing is morally— it’s… it’s something that should be left to the police!”

“Oh?” Joker strode forward, leaning down in a way you never did to talk to a shorter person. “Then let tonight be the night Uravity almost caught Joker and proved to everyone that justice prevails through the right channels.”

“Wha—”

And with that, he was gone.

She wasn’t even sure _how_ —! It was like he disappeared over the edge of the building, but he wasn’t there at the bottom. What on Earth kind of quirk allowed you to do that? Portals of some kind? But that wouldn’t account for— And he knew her hero name?!

She looked at her watch. Oh, crap. She needed to get back and apologize before someone ordered a search party. UA students got into so much trouble just with Deku alone that they hardly had any excuse to do anything outside of the campus.

—

After many apologies, she returned to bed without thinking anything would be amiss when the morning came, but when she opened her door, people crowded around it and had been knocking for so long it was a wonder it didn’t wake her up.

“You have so much explaining to do—” Momo said, tensely.

“You met Joker?!” Kirishima exclaimed. “For real?”

“Wait, wait, what’s going on?”

Someone pulled out their phone and pulled up the Phan-site website. A message had been posted to it by the Phantom Thieves themselves.

“Congratulations to Uravity of UA for almost catching the leader of the Phantom Thieves. May our rivalry be as fun for you as it is for me.”

Ochaco’s hands gripped the sides of her cheek, screaming “WHAAAAAAT?!” As loudly as possible, so that no one on her floor could ever think of getting back to sleep that morning.

—

Upstairs of Leblanc, Akira Kurusu was tying his shoes and listening to Morgana nag him from the inside of his schoolbag.

“You’re being reckless! Calling out a UA student will only make the police interrogate her! And what if she gives details that go directly to you?!”

“Don’t worry about it, I didn’t give anything away,” Akira said simply, pulling his schoolbag over his shoulder with Morgana inside. “Besides, the last heist for a while was last night. I just… wanted to tease her a bit, that’s all.”

“Teasing can get us all caught.”

“Trust me,” was all Akira said as he went down the steps for his morning coffee before heading out the door.

As he passed people on the street talking excitedly about how a UA student met the Phantom Thief himself, Akira smiled to himself. She was cute… and there was that budding feeling of a confidante inside of him, one he knew triggered when he met the right person. He’d have to meet her again, no matter what.

Even if it’d be hard to bump into her on the street when she basically lived at her school, even if their schools were far apart. Maybe he could get to know her as Akira instead of as Joker… or would she be too perceptive, and see right through? The possibilities were as endless as a thousand maps drawn for a heist. Makoto and the others would scold him for sure, but he didn’t care. For once, he was following his heart by (slightly) teasing a girl.

Either way, he was excited. For the first time, in a long time.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ochaco and Deku both have chance meetings. Akira wonders about his 'quirk'. The Phantom Thieves discuss just what the heck is going on with him.

Ochaco had so much explaining to do.

So much, to the police, to her teachers, interrogations lasting so long that she missed her classes. What was the Phantom Thief like? His appearance, describe it down to the letter. Aizawa seemed like he didn’t buy her lie of getting lost on the way to the convenience store (it was, after all, only a block away), but she didn’t lie about a single thing she did, except for her reasoning for doing so.

“I just— look, I don’t want any trouble with the Phantom Thieves, I don’t know why they called me out like that!”

The police didn’t seem to believe her, and when she went back to the dorms, completely exhausted, her friends were there to cheer her up— and pry.

“What was the guy you met like?” Mina asked, excitedly. “Was he like— a real gentleman thief? Do you think he called you out because he thinks you’re cute?!”

“Please, no!” Ochaco shook her head. “I don’t want to be involved with this! The Phantom Thieves are already polarizing enough, this could put my career in jeopardy…”

“Yeah, like… wouldn’t it make more sense for them to call out another person from UA? Like, Deku’s really making a name for himself…” Kirishima said, stretching his arms above his head. “You’d think he’d do something to get the Phantom Thieves’ attention, not you. Is it really just because you crossed paths?”

“I just—” Ochaco waved her hands rapidly, standing up. “I don’t know what he wants with me, but I don’t… I don’t necessarily want him arrested, you know? The Phantom Thieves have been— well, mostly—”

“Why wouldn’t you want him arrested?”

The voice belonged to Bakugo.

“Didn’t you see that Stain supported the Phantom Thieves for trying to overthrow corruption in Japan? Who knows how many villains feel the same way.”

“You don’t like them…?”

“It’s a hero’s job to put the pain on criminals, not weird vigilantes who ‘change hearts’. They’re nothing but a time bomb. Eventually, they’ll probably change a pro hero who they think is ‘corrupt’ and everyone and their mothers will be out to get them.”

Ochaco didn’t get that impression from Joker, for the few moments she knew him. He was the type to tease her and call her out, sure, but there didn’t seem to be any malice in it… that she could detect. Rivalry? That was a mystery. Was he planning on… using her? To get at UA?

… Was there any corruption at UA?

No, no, she loved her teachers and her classmates! They wouldn’t target them. He just wanted to call out that she almost captured him and he got away— what a pain! What a jerk! Where had he even heard of her hero name…? Either way, the Phantom Thieves were either vigilantes with the best intentions or planning something terrible, and she was hoping for the former. When she met him that night… he didn’t seem to be a bad person at all. She knew from her instincts that this was a kid, just like her, and the sketches the police made based of her description looked like someone who might have been her age, maybe older.

So… maybe it was someone who was just doing their best to protect the world from corruption. What kind of quirk made that possible? And why were there multiple people who could?

It was entirely a mystery, and as her friends asked more questions, Ochaco remained deep in thought over the fact that she might be used to help catch this person— as the only one in the world who might recognize him face to face, she would be invaluable to the police for her efforts.

She wasn’t sure she wanted to be used that way.

—

“Akira has a crush, huh?”

Futaba was typing loudly on her laptop as the Phantom Thieves gathered at Leblanc, Sojiro thankfully gone for the evening. Ann shot Akira a look that was both curious and annoyed.

“You painted a huge target on your back, you know that, right?”

“I know.”

“AND—” Ryuji butted in. “You messed with the biggest school for raising pro heroes in the process. Is a crush on a girl really— like, dude, come on? This sounds like something I would do, and I wouldn’t do it.”

“It’s something I’m curious about…” Akira blew the steam off his coffee before taking a sip. “A connection I felt with her the moment I met her. Plus, students at UA keep getting in danger from the League of Villains. It makes me wonder if there’s someone at that high school that keeps putting them in trouble.”

“You don’t think she—”

“No. I trust her. It’s… I know Shujin Academy is known for being a quirkless high school. There are rarely any heroes that graduate from it, but someplace like UA has to have strict regulations, pro hero teachers. I think getting involved with the people there might help us in the future.”

“You’re not saying we get to know the students…?” Makoto asked, bluntly.

“I’m saying we try to show the future generation that we’re fighting for the sake of justice. There’s already the Phan-site, but our popularity took a hit after Stain—”

“That bastard,” Ryuji snapped. “We were doing so great, too.”

Yusuke thought for a moment. “Do you think we should search Mementos for people from UA?”

“… I thought about that,” Akira concluded. “I think there might be merit in trying. Even if they’re small-time and don’t have Palaces, we could get some insight that way.”

“What I want to know is—” Futaba shut her laptop with a resounding click. “Why Akira is so hung up on Uravity. I posted the message as he said, but—”

“I think she’ll be the most interesting to work with. She’s seen me before. She must have been interrogated by the police by now. It’s up to her whether she wants to chase us or help us.”

“You have a weird definition of ‘interesting’. Joker…” Morgana sighed.

“Don’t worry about it. By the way, any intel on our next palace?”

“None yet, but…” Futaba crossed her arms, leaning on the table. “I’m worried it’s going to be a pro hero.”

“Why would that be a problem?”

“We knock down one domino, and the whole thing falls. People will be after us like crazy. Even if they’re a super bad person, it might be best to stick to lowlives not in the industry.”

“… she’s right,” Akira said. “If we do have to go after a pro hero someday, let’s save it for when we no longer have a choice to act.”

“In the meantime, there’s this guy who’s hiring girls for modeling tryouts and— well… let’s say his clients never last.”

Ann’s head shot up and her anger was palpable. “How well known is he? Have I worked with him before?”

“Miyashiro Keiichi. Sound familiar?”

“That scumbag… I always heard advice to stay away from him, but I never knew—!”

“Then it’s settled.” Futaba adjusted her glasses. “We go after the creep.”

As Akira half-listened to Futaba’s plan, he thought about the girl who could float. She was… well, adorable, in all ways. Probably had a lot of fans. He wasn’t the type for love at first sight— because in this instance, it wasn't first sight. A confidante. Would she keep his secret, if they met on the street?

—

“Shibuya is so cool this time of year!”

Mina was excitedly hopping from place to place, looking at the clothes stores and staring into Big Bang Burger with a hungry face. Jiro pulled on her arm, trying to get her to focus. Today, they were here to buy textbooks and maybe see a movie, nothing more than that. Also, to help Ochaco get her mind off of that Joker guy. Deku was right behind them, writing in his notebook about the Phantom Thieves with every bit of information he could gather the previous night. He was droning on and on about small details about them, practically background noise. It was out of a sense of protectiveness for Ochaco— if she’d been called out specifically, what did they want with her?

Surely, it couldn’t be just a rivalry?

Ochaco separated from the group to go look at the bookstore for the textbooks they needed. UA could order them, but it was faster just to hop on the train to go get them themselves. She would need to bring back one for every classmate, and— ah, she bumped shoulders with someone reaching for one of the books.

Kurusu Akira and Uraraka Ochaco’s eyes met.

They weren’t red, for one, so Ochaco didn’t suspect a thing. He did have a mess of curly, dark hair, and his face was perfectly framed by his glasses, but still… there was no sense of familiarity, even as he smiled at her and apologized.

“Is this the book you’re looking for?” He handed it to her.

“Oh! Yeah, it is, but I need to get like… all of them!” She waved her hands nervously. “I’m picking them up for my schoolmates, the teachers gave us an allowance to buy them, so—”

“Want me to help carry them?”

She was about to deny him that, but the books did look heavy— not something that was a problem for someone who controlled gravity, but he was polite about it, so she couldn’t say no. As he gathered half the books and she took the other half, the two walked to the cashier’s line.

“What’s your name?” In her embarrassment, she hadn’t asked.

“Kurusu Akira.”

“I’m— Uraraka Ochaco.” She smiled, wanting to hold out her hand to shake his, but unfortunately carrying far too many books for that. “Do you live here? In Shibuya, I mean.”

“A neighboring town. I attend Shujin Academy. Where do you go?”

“Oh! Ahahaha, I go to UA…”

“That’s pretty far out,” Akira cocked his head gently. “All this way for some books?”

“Well, they’re sold out everywhere, haha…”

“It’s an impressive school, for sure.” Akira smiled, looking ahead with a subtle smile. “You must have done great to get into it.”

“Oh, come on… Shujin Academy’s not bad either. It’s mostly for quirkless students, right?”

“Yeah. It wasn’t my first choice.”

“Oh?” Ochaco asked. “What was your first?”

But then, it was time to put the books in front of the cashier. Akira set them down and said his goodbyes.

“It was nice meeting you,” He said, with a short wave.

“You too! Thanks so much!”

With that, he was gone.

—

As Deku continued writing in his notebook, someone peeked over his shoulder.

“You must know a lot about the Phantom Thieves, huh?”

“H-huh?! Oh, I—”

He turned. He looked. He immediately recognized her.

Takamaki Ann. The _model_.

Face flushed and quickly trying to hide his notebook underneath his arm, he stammered. “I-I-I just, everyone is— I mean, everyone wants to know everything about them, so—”

For whatever reason, his stammering was kind of charming. “Really? Can you tell me more about them?”

“Well, we only know the names of three of them— J-Joker, Panther, and Skull. And there’s been more photographed, but the pictures are always blurry.” He flipped through his notebook to show her. She was doing more than scoping it out— she _knew_ who Deku was, a classmate of Ochaco’s. This was reconnaissance, making sure she knew what the enemy knew— or at least, she hoped he wasn’t an enemy.

“You’re Deku, right? Or… Izuku? Sorry, I don’t really remember—”

“Y—” The supermodel… knew his name?

“Yeah, you made a huge name for yourself in the papers! It’s hard not to recognize you, even in Shibuya,” She teased. “So, are you targeting the phantom thieves next?”

“I— no, I just… they called out a friend of mine a little while ago, and I’m worried for her.”

“I wouldn’t worry too much. She’s a good person, right?”

“She’s the best!”

“Then you have nothing to fear from the Phantom Thieves,” She winked. Deku thought he might melt on the spot. “I for one, think they’re really cool.”

“YEAH, COOL.” He couldn’t seem to control the volume of his voice.

“Oops, sorry, forgot to say my name—”

“Ann! It’s Ann, right?”

“Ann it is. Hope we cross paths again, Deku!” As she gave a short wave over her shoulder, Deku rounded a corner to regain his breath.

—

Akira had always been strange with his quirk. The bone in his toe was the right shape for having one, but his parents were surprised to see it never manifest. More accurately, even as a child, Akira had kept it secret.

His quirk was a voice.

The wings of rebellion inside of him, before he even understood those words, had been calling out to his heart. Arsene had always been with him, but it was when he encountered Kamoshida when it _really_ had awoken.

And there were people, just like him, who thought they were quirkless only to discover through tearing off their masks, they had a unique skill that only they had access to— a Persona. For Joker, several Personas. Makoto had been the shame of her family for not possessing the same one Sae did— Ryuji put everything into sports until Kamoshida broke his leg to make up for the fact that he was quirkless. Even though models with flashy quirks were in right now, Ann had worked her heart and soul into modeling to keep up with the other girls and even got her fair share of flack for it.

Now, they could use the abilities of their personas outside of the metaverse as if they were quirks— but having been deemed quirkless their entire lives, they kept them a secret as much as possible. They could be a dead giveaway in the wrong situation.

Still, Ann would look at the flames in her palm and feel like she finally belonged in this world. Akira, who had been incarcerated and thrown away to Shujin like he was worthless, now had the power to strike back at a world of corruption.

—

When the UA students got back to the school, books, and souvenirs from Shibuya in tow, Aizawa held up a hand to stop Ochaco.

“Give those books to your classmates. The police want to talk to you again.”

Ochaco sighed internally but put on a smile. She gave a short wave to her friends as she was lead to a meeting room to talk about Joker even more. When she got there, though, the officer that wanted to talk to her had a proposition.

“We want to use you for a sting operation involving the Phantom Thieves.”

“Wh— what?!”

“Whenever we get their next calling card, we want you on the scene. You might be able to spot him in a crowd, be able to tell us where he is, and we might be able to nab him then and there. Do you agree?”

Ochaco thought about it. She thought about the gentleman thief who teased her, wondering if he really deserved to get caught with the good he tried to do in the world. Still, she might be the police’s only hope. In that case… there was nothing she could do but help, right? And this might mean… she’d get an explanation from him for what he meant by ‘rivalry’!

“I accept. Please let me know when you need me.”

“That’ll be all.”

As Ochaco left the room, she clenched her fists. She was ready to solve the mystery of who the leader of the Phantom Thieves were, whether he liked it or not!


	3. Chapter 3

The Phantom Thieves…

In a world of heroes, they were considered a threat. Not by all heroes— but by enough. There were enough heroes with secrets as to how they became heroes. There were enough politicians controlling the Hero network. There were enough people to fear them, even the small-time catches in Mementos. The police’s official position was that they should be captured immediately— the forceful removal of someone’s free will was an unacceptable way to deal with criminals, even ones whose crimes were hidden until exposed by the Phantom Thieves.

If you had to ask a hero like All Might what his opinion on them would be, the answer would be too complex. If you had to ask Aizawa, he would guess it was a bunch of troublemaking kids who couldn’t go after targets who really needed it, like the League of Villains.

Still, they had their fans, especially among the quirkless population and those whose quirks were considered ‘useless’ by the hero field. People were losing hope in heroes in general— the seeds of discontent sowed by the League of Villains and Stain made them want to turn to a new source of hope. Still, the Phantom Thieves made it very clear when they (rarely) made public statements through untraceable methods that they condemned killing of any kind, and therefore, did not support the same villains that supported them.

It was complicated. It was a gray issue, hard to pick a side on. Class 1-A was divided, though they generally seemed to support the fact that bad guys who were too covert at their crimes were the ones being exposed. But, the one person at UA who was closest to the Phantom Thieves wasn’t even in the hero classes.

He was a childhood friend of Ryuji’s. They’d bonded over the things that made them different as a child— Ryuji being ‘quirkless’, and his friend having a Villain’s quirk.

Hitoshi Shinsou was someone Ryuji trusted with all his heart, even if they didn’t see each other all that often, but that didn’t mean he could confide his Phantom Thievery in him. On the way to school one morning, Ryuji called him up, wanting to hear his voice.

“Hey, dude, how’s it hanging?”

“It’s early, you know…” Shinsou’s yawn could be heard from the other end of the phone.

“Yeah, I just— wanted to hear from you, bro! Did you hear about the Phantom Thieves’ new calling card?”

“Yeah, they’re targeting some modeling agent… I told you, I don’t really care about the Phantom Thieves. Everyone at school might, but I’m in neither camp.”

Ryuji sounded a little defeated. “Anyway, I was calling to say I can’t hang out tonight. I got… stuff.”

Stuff being a heist.

“You slacked off on your homework again, didn’t you?” Shinsou gently accused.

“No, no! I didn’t, I swear! It’s— uhh, it’s stuff involving the Track team.”

“You’re re-joining?”

“I don’t know yet… but I’m gonna train.”

“Got it,” Shinsou bit back another yawn. “Let’s go see Tanktop Millionaire at the theaters next week instead.”

“Knew you’d understand! See ya, buddy.”

“Later.”

Ryuji wasn’t the best at keeping secrets, but he was also the kind of person you’d never expect to be… well, clever enough at the Phantom Thief business. His outer personality had been a better mask than the skull he wore, but Shinsou knew him better than that. On the playground, as youngsters, Ryuji told him how cool he was for having a quirk at all, and Shinsou would bitterly tell him how it got him in trouble if he ever used it.

“Yeah, but it’s still something you can use to help people someday! Change their minds, actions, especially villains!” The young Ryuji had said.

Who knew that Ryuji would grow up to do the same?

—

The team exhaustedly collapsed in Akira’s room once the Palace was done with. They had all marched upstairs, giving Sojiro their hello’s and the excuse that studying for exams today was really killer— and when he raised a suspicious eyebrow at Futaba, she said ‘helping them cheat wasn’t easy, either!’ That, at least made him give a wry smile, knowing she was still in the mood to tease.

On the old CRTV, Makoto put in a DVD of an old movie and the crew sat together to talk about their plans.

“Alright, so,” Futaba said. “Joker calling out Uravity was a good distraction from this Palace, but now people are going to expect her to start showing up at heists from now on, right?”

“Yeah, uh… was calling out a UA student really the best idea?” Ryuji rubbed the back of his head. “They are kind of ass-kickers in the making. She might really apprehend you, Joker.”

“I saw one the other day, I recognized him by uniform!” Ann gushed gently. “He was a nerd, but in like, a really adorable way. And he was talking about us…”

“Might’ve been a friend of hers?”

Akira hadn’t responded yet, staring at his phone and flipping through messages.

“Akira,” Makoto stated gently. “What is your ulterior motive with this girl? We can’t afford any unnecessary risks as it is.”

Akira looked away. “I can’t talk about that yet.”

“Is it because he thinks she’s hot?” Futaba asked, blatantly.

“It’s not that,” Akira responded. “She just…”

He took a deep breath and sighed.

“She helped me out a long time ago. I’ve never forgotten, so I wanted to… help her become famous through us. That way, she’ll be guaranteed to become a successful hero.”

Futaba crossed her legs and held the underside of them, rocking back and forth. “You can’t just lead in with that and say nothing about what she did!”

“I agree,” Yusuke followed up. “If she’s part of your past, we deserve to know why we’re getting entangled with her.”

Akira sighed and spoke.

—

> **_The Next Day…_ **

Ochaco was doing her best to research the Phantom Thieves through the notebook Deku had made for her. Inside of it, she had scribbled Akira’s face to the best of her memory and used red ink for the eyes. Those eyes had been the most distinguishing feature… she would never forget them. And now, she was supposed to be rivals with this guy? It was just hitting the news that a model agent was confessing to abusing the girls he hired and assisted in trafficking them. No matter how you looked at it, apprehending people like that made the Phantom Thieves hard to hate.

So why a rivalry, with her?

Did… Joker know her from somewhere? She jolted up in her bed. That had to be it! Joker knew her and was involving her in this for some crazy revenge reason! But… the problem with that theory is that she couldn’t think of anyone she’d really… wronged… for that to be true. She turned down some boys in middle school, but that couldn’t be it. None of them had red eyes, or looked like Joker. No matter what she thought of, it all ended in Joker being someone who watched her from a distance, which was… really creepy, okay? Or maybe it was something else…

Bakugo had red eyes, but he definitely didn’t have enough of a gentlemanly demeanor to act like a Phantom Thief. As Momo and Mina talked to her about it, the more confused she got.

“Maybe it’s a publicity stunt?” Mina said, excitedly. “Or, they’re targeting someone at UA!”

“I don’t want to believe anyone here is bad enough for that!” Ochaco exclaimed. She ruffled her own hair in frustration, then stood straight up. “I’m gonna… go out for a bit, okay?”

“Just don’t stay out too late again and meet up with Joker~”

“I won’t! I really, really won’t!”

—

The town surrounding UA was so peaceful, mostly due to the heroes protecting it. UA held their best and brightest, so they had to be kept safe. That, and they’d gotten into so much trouble lately that it had to be locked down rather securely. Hoisting the brown leather bag with her study materials and the Phantom Thieves notebook inside, she decided to look for a cafe to study in.

The Phantom Thieves weren’t a relatively new phenomenon. It started back in April of… when? She couldn’t remember. Ever since, a cloud of worry and hope hung over Japan. At first, they just targeted people in Shibuya’s area, but they’d expanded to anyone who was doing something so unforgivable that there was no other method for confession. Even she had to admit, the Phantom Thieves weren’t bad people— they hadn’t targeted anyone with a crime ‘innocent’ enough to be considered superfluous. She decided to make her own entry in the journal Deku had made.

“Flirtatious, gutsy, has access to grappling wire and thieve’s tools… knows what he’s doing…”

She almost sounded like a fan, so she quickly wrote in “Full of himself, for sure.”

Joker calling her out instead of someone like Deku or Bakugo made her feel like she was in a spotlight for sure. When she was writing down a few more details in her notebook, without any notice at all, a woman sat at her table.

“Hi there, you’re Uravity, right?”

Being greeted by her hero name was never good.

“I’m Ohya Ichiko. I’m a reporter. I was wondering if I could ask you some…”

“I don’t really want to—”

“Is it true that when you encountered Joker of the Phantom Thieves, he flirted with you?”

A blush immediately rose to Ochaco’s face. “I-I-I don’t see how that’s relevant to anything!”

“Okay, so next— how tall was he? What did he look like? What did he say? Tell me everything! I’ll compensate you for your—”

“Too late! Bathroom! Gotta go!” Ochaco held up one hand in a karate-chop motion and grabbed her bag and headed for the back of the cafe. Was this seriously going to be her life now?

“Wait!” The woman called out, catching her wrist. “Can you at least tell me if you’re going to take his rivalry seriously?”

“I… um… maybe?”

The woman grinned. “That’s all I needed to know.”

“Leave her be.”

A boy in glasses with his hands in his pockets took hold of Ichiko’s arm and she reflexively retracted it. “Oh… it’s you. Well then, I guess I’ll leave you to it.”

Ochaco immediately recognized him as the boy who helped her carry her books.

“You seriously didn’t have to do that—”

“She and I go back. She can be inappropriate,” Akira wore a disarming smile, trying to put her at ease as Ichiko left. “But she always wants to write the biggest story, so don’t be surprised if your name shows up in the newspaper.”

“Great…” Ochaco slumped back into her seat. “Now I have to worry about Mom and Dad hearing about how Joker—”

“Joker?” Akira asked, tilting his head.

“Oh— you wouldn’t know. Go ahead and sit down. I’ll explain… as thanks for helping me the other day.”

As she recounted the tale of how she met Joker not once, but twice, Akira had to bite back a smile and keep on the perfect poker face, something he could easily do. To think it had affected her so much… he felt guilty about it, but the next time they met— as Hero and Thief— he would tell her more. He would assure her that even as rivals, he was on her side.

“It sounds like rough work, being picked out by a random thief as a rival.”

“I know, right? Like, what did I do to deserve this?”

Akira knew the answer but didn’t say it.

“Do you know anything about his teammates?” He asked. “Maybe they’re the reason he chose you.” It was a red herring, but anything that kept the game afoot…

“That’s true… I didn’t think of that, but then it could be anyone at all.” She brought out the notebook and showed it to Akira. “This thing is a comprehensive guide on all the stuff we know about Phantom Thieves. My friend… made it for me.”

The pause made Akira raise an eyebrow, but he still took a look. It really was complete, all the things they let slip, all the stuff that paparazzi and Ichiko was allowed to make known to the public… some of Mishima’s mishaps. All of it was there, yet none of it pointed to any individual.

“It started at Shujin Academy, but it’s branched out from—” She looked at him, surprised. “You’re from Shujin? Your uniform—”

“Yeah. It stands out.”

“What can you tell me about what happened with the first guy? Kamoshida? If you were a student there, then—!”

Akira gently laid out the facts, leaving some details out for discretion and for his own sake. It was cute, watching her scribble down notes in that notebook on the Kamoshida case.

“So… do you think they started there for any particular reason?”

“Maybe it was just the easiest target? A lot of the students were injured by that man, and that girl…”

“Yeah…” She said, sadly. “Oh, well. Their targets are so varied that it’s hard to pinpoint exactly where they started. There could’ve been a change of heart before Kamoshida that didn’t make it to press, or…”

“It’s hard, you’re right. But you’re being diligent and taking it seriously. I’d expect nothing less from a UA student.”

“Oh, it’s nothing,” She blushed, rubbing the back of her head. “It’s because I have my friends to help me that I—”

She looked at her watch. “Crap, I’m gonna be late… hey, nice meeting you properly!”

“Sure. Take care.”

As she dashed off, Akira became more certain with his resolve. He would make it up to her. He would make sure her hero career took off with a bang. 

_I am thou, thou art I. Thou_ _hast_ _acquired a new vow. It shall become the wings of rebellion that_ _breaketh_ _thy chains of captivity. With the birth of the Aeon Persona, I have obtained the winds of blessing that should lead to freedom and new power…_

After all, she had inspired him. She raised her voice at one of his darkest moments. Even if she didn’t recognize him, that was worth something.

—

“… I’m going to have to travel to UA,” Sae told Makoto over dinner. “There’s a student there of interest, I trust you’ve heard the news?”

“Yes. The person Joker declared a rival.”

“… if only we knew the nature of his quirk… if I could just get a good look at him.”

Sae’s quirk was itself quirk detection, but for whatever reason, Personas didn’t register as quirks in her eyes. To Sae, Makoto was still quirkless, a secret Makoto was glad to keep. She used her abilities to pin down how criminals might be using their quirks and how to identify someone in a lineup with a certain power tied to the crime. She was disappointed Makoto didn’t inherit it as well, as their parents shared similar quirks.

“You’re going to have to work a lot harder in this world to get places because you’re quirkless. Never forget that. Even if you follow in my footsteps or go to a great college, you’ll still be at a disadvantage—”

Makoto stewed in melancholy and anger as she ate her food. If only Sae knew what she was really doing—

“There’s a case at my office we’re trying to wrestle with. A hero who went pro who might have used a recent disaster to rob buildings while people were in trouble. Of course, yours truly will be handling it…”

As long as the police had it covered, the Phantom Thieves weren’t needed, but it still made Makoto’s blood boil that those who would protect them could still do something like this.

When she excused herself from dinner, washed her and Sae’s plates, and went to her room, she was surprised to see a text message from Akira.

 **AKIRA** : For our next calling card…

 **AKIRA** : Let’s make sure Uravity sees it in time to be sent there.

 **AKIRA** : It may be a bit much. But I want to see…

 **AKIRA** : Her resolve.

 **MAKOTO** : As long as you can handle it.

 **AKIRA** : I know I will.

Makoto flopped onto her bed, wishing that Akira’s strange behavior had a payoff of some kind.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Joker and Ochaco have another not-so-chance encounter. Ann decides to make a friend.

A few weeks would pass before the next calling card was sent.

Ochaco had been nervous the entire time. The police were counting on her to show up and try to identify Joker in the area the calling card had been sent. She was— officially— on patrol.

The target this time was a man from a low-profile hero agency. Judging by the calling card sent, they were accused of robbery from the scenes of disaster that would plague their city whenever Villains attacked. Though the calling card would be enough to place them under investigation, they decided to amp up security instead, not knowing that very act would be what would cause the treasure to materialize…

“Thank you for coming,” Jack Hammer, the hero accused, went to shake Ochaco’s hand and she tentatively shook it. The building they were in was packed with both police and people trying to do their everyday work. Ochaco couldn’t shake a bad feeling about all of this— about the person the police were ordering her to protect, about Joker’s appearance. The Phantom Thieves were very rarely sighted, so it was even more of an enigma that she’d managed to see him twice, let alone once.

“I trust you’ll be able to handle this… ‘Joker’?” He laughed.

“I’ll do my best!”

“Well then, get to it. Patrol the area and see if you find anything suspicious— and report it to us immediately.”

One could tell the man was on edge to the point of near breakdown, so even if he was accused of something terrible— the police should question him and not leave it to the thieves, but the police were resistant. Said Jack Hammer had a good track record as a hero, they had no reason to doubt him.

But the Phantom Thieves never struck someone innocent, she thought.

As she wandered up the steps of the building, she tapped into her gravity powers to make her footsteps silent. Maybe she could sneak up on him? And… where in this building would a treasure worth stealing be?

It was Jack’s heart, no doubt. How… exactly did they do that? Was her meeting Joker some kind of a fluke that never was supposed to happen? No, no, he spoke to her with intent. He called her out for her rivalry. He _meant_ to do this. That meant she couldn’t ignore it, no matter what! Deku and the others believed in her. She’d do this job right.

Suddenly, she heard a sound of commotion coming from the main hall. Ochaco rushed to the scene, only to find Jack surrounded by the police as the man collapsed to his knees.

“I can’t… I can’t, I can’t—”

The emotional breakdowns that accompanied hearts being stolen— that meant Joker was nearby! The heart had been stolen, so— she immediately ran outside, running up the fire escape to the top of the building— the same kind of place where she saw Joker last.

And sure enough, there he was, pulling tight the glove on his hand, a golden shiny something placed in his pocket. He noticed her just in time for her to tackle him… or at least try to. He side-stepped her with such proficiency that she felt awkward to suddenly be grabbing air.

“You gotta step it up, rival,” He teased.

Those red eyes again…

“Just— who are you!” She exclaimed. “Why target Jack Hammer?”

Joker cocked his head. “For the crimes committed on his calling card. Didn’t you see?”

“He really…?”

“Not only did he steal from collapsed buildings, but he also killed civilians who were injured so they wouldn’t squeal.” Joker stuck his hands in his pockets and walked away. “Not that his friends in the police would ever tell about that, having a cut of the profit themselves.”

“You’re lying!”

“I saw his heart,” Joker said, suddenly serious. “I know the truth.”

Ochaco held her hand to her chest subconsciously. “His heart… you can… see inside of people’s minds and hearts, but—”

“But?”

“But then why drag me into this? What did I ever do to you?”

“Something I need to thank you for,” Joker said, quietly.

“… what?”

“He’s here!” A police officer, suddenly opening the door to the roof, aimed his gun at Joker. “Get him! Uravity, what are you doing?!”

“Right!” She exclaimed, rushing head forward to grab onto Joker again, but his grappling gun had pulled him to the next, taller building, but he wouldn’t get away that easily. Using her gravity, she raised herself to his level as quickly as she could. Chasing him on foot, floating as he jumped from building to building. Helicopters shone with flashes of camera shutters with the chase in progress, and every time Joker thought he lost her, there she was— hot on his trail.

“Guess I’ve got no choice.”

Joker put his hand on his lapel, bowed to her, and backed off of the building, falling backward. Ochaco shrieked.

“No, no no no no!” She ran forward, thinking he’d killed himself, but instead, he’d just… disappeared.

At least, most of him had.

Before her hovered a _monster_.

It was an elegant creature, in red and black, with a face made of fire with a grin still visible on it. It had a top hat and some kind of suit, and it reached out and touched her cheek.

“My master will never admit his feelings for your sake, but I find you quite charming myself.”

With that, Arsene Lupin vanished.

Ochaco’s mind had officially stopped.

—

It was all over the news. Videos of her engaging, outrageous chase after Joker was everywhere. A UA student wouldn’t usually get so much press, but she was officially now a celebrity of some kind. There was no denying it. Students crowded her for information on Joker, and what the beast that appeared to her at the very last second had to be. She said she had no clue, really, that it should best be left alone for now… but she had no idea what that thing was. Why it spoke to her. Was that… Joker’s quirk? It reminded her of Tokoyami, so she went to question him.

“What’s it like having a quirk with its own identity?”

“Is this about the beast that appeared when Joker disappeared?”

“Well…” Ochaco rubbed the back of her head. “Yeah.”

“I was wondering that myself, honestly. Dark Shadow was nothing like that and doesn’t share a power similar to Joker’s. I cannot steal hearts, so…”

“Hey…” She asked, quietly. “What if it isn’t a quirk at all?”

“You’re suggesting the supernatural?”

“I’m running out of options, I know… but it might just be—”

“Ochaco-chan!” Deku waved her over. “I updated my notebook with a photo of that thing you saw last night! We might really be onto what Joker’s quirk is!”

Ochaco pardoned herself and went over to her friend’s desk. “What do you think it is?”

“An extension of the self, for sure… hey, Ochaco— would you let me come with you next time? The more I observe someone using their quirk, the better I understand it.”

“I, too, would like to make sure you don’t do this on your own,” Iida said. “As long as we have our Provisional Licenses, we should be allowed—”

“Great!” She said, excitedly. “I’d be so happy for your help. But yeah, when the shadow thing spoke to me, it was like…”

Suddenly, Ochaco remembered what it said and changed the subject. “It was so weird, its voice was almost echo-y and strange.”

“You’re blushing…” Todoroki pointed out, gently.

“I’m not! It’s just hot today!” She pumped her fist. “Anyway, I’m sure he’s still alive, but he has to have a portal power of some kind. Something that allows him to disappear at a whim.”

Todoroki leaned back in his chair, thinking. “Maybe he is just a gentleman thief. They have all sorts of tricks up their sleeves to disappear. Maybe what you saw was a sleight of hand.”

“That could be it… but the police scoured the area and he was nowhere to be found.”

“I don’t envy you,” Shouto said quietly. “If it were me… I would have frozen him where he stood.”

 _Yikes_ , Ochaco thought. “I know, but… it feels like he wants to do me a favor?”

“Why’s he involving you in so much trouble, then?” Deku asked.

“I don’t knooow… it’s just weird. Anyway, I’m heading home to stay with my folks for today instead of the dorms. They want to look after me after all this trouble.”

“Good plan. We’ll see you on Monday, Ochaco-chan.”

—

Ochaco flopped onto her bed with exhaustion. Paparazzi were begging to ask her questions all the way to her parents’ house. All she wanted to do was sleep. Even text messages on her phone weren’t enough to stir her from her tiredness, so she quietly drifted off to sleep… and dreamed of somewhere blue.

All she could remember from the dream were the following words:

_‘I don’t know if this one has the courage to forsake the will of the law for the justice she knows in her heart. For that, we will see…’_

—

She woke up to several messages on her phone.

Momo, Mina, Deku… she’d respond to them all in time. But there was one that stood out.

Alibaba.

 **ALIBABA** : Greetings. I am one connected to the Phantom Thieves.

Know this; our justice is sound and our cause is true.

Also, our leader really likes you for some reason. :T

This message will erase itself as soon as you see it, so don’t bother reporting it to the cops.

I just wanted to tell you something.

Trust Joker.

Even if it seems like he’s making your life harder, he has his reasons.

Okay, that’s all.

Sayonara.

Just like that, the message disappeared before her eyes. Like throwing it into a burning fire as a secret note.

All of this was more stress than it was worth, but… trust Joker, huh?

Trust him with what, exactly?

—

“Hey…” Ann whispered to Makoto. “It’s that kid from the other day.”

Sure enough, Deku was writing diligently on a page of homework at the same diner they sat at. Ann wanted to travel a little bit farther than Shibuya today, so the coincidence was rare to be sure.

“What about him?”

Ann tapped her pencil on the desk, trying not to get caught staring.

“Dude…” Ryuji looked at Ann like she was crazy. “That guy is a solid 5/10. Why are you looking at him like that?”

“Shut up, Ryuji! I know him from the papers. He’s been everywhere ever since the League of Villains were on the rise. And from Futaba-chan’s network of information, he’s pretty famous. I’m just looking ‘cause it’s rare to see him, that’s all.”

“Why don’t you go talk to him?” Makoto asked.

“Wh— no, haha, I’d just…”

“Why not? If he knows a lot about the Phantom Thieves, as you told us, it might be worth getting intel.”

Ann felt… strange about the words ‘getting intel’ from someone who looked so innocent and was totally a good guy. He might be able to smell the anti-hero on her and recognize her as Panther, too. Panther had never been recorded on video, just pictures. Her voice was unknown, but Joker could change his in and out of the costume to be unrecognizable, so it was safe for him to talk to people…

Still…

“Alright, I’ll talk to him.”

Ann stood up from the table and pulled out a chair at Deku’s. “Hey, you’re that guy from the other day!” Her fake acting was so horrible that Ryuji facepalmed from his seat. “Mind if I… sit here?”

“Huh? Oh, sure…” He didn’t seem to be paying much attention, just working on his homework diligently.

“What are you working on?” Now that Ann could relax, she could more comfortably ask him what he was doing without the act.

“Oh, homework— ah, you’re…” Deku raised his head with a slight blush. “You’re Takamaki Ann. The girl I met in S-Shibuya the other day!”

“You remember me!” Ann exclaimed, happily. “You left such a strong impression that I had to come over and say hi.”

Strong impression…? Deku swallowed, hard, biting down on the straw of his drink and trying not to look embarrassed. Takamaki Ann was on magazines and billboards. It was hard not to recognize her… and she was talking to him for no reason?

“Like, what you had to say about the Phantom Thieves… it was really thorough! I get psyched when I hear people talk like that!”

It was sincere, coming from Ann, who loved to hear people talk about what made them passionate. In this case— for Deku, it was heroes, villains, and everything in-between, but mostly heroes. He tried to hide his red face with his book, which Ann found all the more endearing.

“I just— my friend is getting bothered by them…”

“Bothered?” Ann asked. Joker had better not be causing that girl stress in his grand plan to make something up to her. “She’s not worried about him, is she?”

“No, just… confused as to why a high-profile thief would target her. Really, it’s—”

The news came on the TV of the cafe.

“We’re just getting news now from the Jack Hammer case. He’s confessed not only to the fact that he was stealing from wreckage sites—”

As the two listened to the case unfold, Izuku’s expression darkened. This guy wasn’t a big-name hero, but he was a guy the public should’ve trusted. To think he was doing such horrible things behind other people’s backs… and that he might have police support on the inside for doing it, too. That of course, wasn’t mentioned, but Deku could gather enough from circumstantial evidence. He was getting away with it with help.

“Jeez… you can’t trust anyone these days,” Ann said, fully aware of the irony of Panther telling a pro-hero in training that.

“The Phantom Thieves… they could uproot the entire hero system if they wanted, but do they really want to…?”

“Of course not!” Ann said, suddenly. “The Phantom Thieves have no problem with heroes. It’s with bad guys, and the bad guys hidden by society.”

“… you’re passionate about them,” Deku said, suddenly.

“I just… I…” Ann decided to be honest. “I was close to the rape and suicide victim from the very first case. When Kamoshida got justice… I felt like revenge had finally been served.”

Izuku fell silent at that. Those were certainly powerful words. “I’m sorry to hear that. Has she recovered?”

“She has. She transferred to another school though, we’re still best friends,” Ann said, somewhat sadly in her voice. “So I’ve followed the Phantom Thieves case for a long time due to that. Sorry if it sounded weird.”

“No problem. I guess you use the Phan-site?”

“Oh yeah! I surf it all the time,” Ann’s voice got a little bubblier. “But… hey, enough about them. I know you. You’ve been all over the news, can you tell me more about yourself?”

Makoto sighed, packing up her things with Ryuji, knowing Ann wouldn’t be returning to their table. Ryuji left the cafe first, paying his tab, and Makoto left a tip on the table before slinging her backpack over her shoulders.

As she left the building, she bumped shoulders with a blond guy her age with a scowl on his face.

“Watch where you’re going,” Bakugo snapped.

“Hmph,” was all she had to say in response.

Still, in that millisecond they looked at each other, they had each unintentionally memorized the other’s eyes— a sharp red, just like their own.


	5. Chapter 5

“The time for Hero Reform is at hand,”

Though passerby would often ignore the sounds of the large, mounted screens on the sides of buildings, a few did stop to listen to Shido’s voice as it rang out over the city. It was a strong, authoritative voice— a promising candidate for the Prime Minister’s position.

“We look to our heroes for inspiration— they guide us, save us from those who would use their powers to do harm. I would like nothing more than to honor these heroes, but there are still people who use quirks for evil. I am of course, speaking of the yet uncaught Phantom Thieves, as well as the rogue League of Villains. Too long have we lived in terror of those who want to upheave our society. With my reform, we would allow Heroes to do their jobs properly— to dispose of this criminal scum once and for all.”

Toshinori Yagi, carrying groceries back to his home, watched the display with a suspicious glance. Hero Reform… sure, but who was that reform actually for? Plus, condemning the Phantom Thieves in the same breath as the League of Villains… politics and hero work were as interwoven as a knot. There was something about Shido that Toshinori didn’t like.

Still, he had his influence in other places. He’d wait to see how this panned out.

—

“Does this team really consider me… useful?”

Morgana watched Akira’s sleeping form with his doubts.

—

Time would pass before either the Phantom Thieves or the UA students would hear of any new news. The real intel was coming from the Phan-site. A poll set up was calling for the change of heart of the head of Okumura Foods, a man who used workers for his own personal gain. While the Phantom Thieves mulled it over, a personal problem arose between them.

Morgana had run off to chase the palace on his own.

“We have to make sure he’s okay, I mean—” Ann said quietly. “He really can’t take on a palace on his own, right?”

“Of course not,” Ryuji snapped back, agitated from his worry. “He couldn’t even do that at Kamoshida’s palace.”

“Doesn’t doubting him make the problem worse?” Makoto weighed in.

“Makoto’s right,” Akira finally said. “We can’t let him think he’s useless. That’s why we’re going in.”

“Well, after you, Joker.”

As they activated the Meta-Nav outside of Okumura Foods’ main hub, they didn’t realize they had caught two people in their little bubble. They had been so focused on Morgana that a redhead and a blond carrying groceries had disappeared along with them.

—

“The hell is this…?” Bakugo tried not to show his apparent and — very real — surprise at the fact that they were _suddenly_ in space.

“UHH, DUDE—” Kirishima ran towards the nearest window, pressing his hands against the glass. Stars blanketed the scenery in a void of black. There was no questioning it— to someone who had never seen a Palace before, this was space. “What the hell just happened?”

“It’s gotta be an illusion quirk, dumbass. We’re caught up in someone’s dumb shit.”

“This feels pretty real…”

“Oh—”

As the sliding door to their room opened, two figures approached them. One was a girl with caramel-colored hair and the other was… well, a bobble-headed looking cat.

“That’s strange…” Haru said quietly. “They don’t look like anyone who’d be a part of my father’s cognition.”

“This is bad!” Morgana shouted. “Those idiots must’ve brought in more people on accident! Quick, use your Nav to get them out of here!”

Instead of listening to whatever the hell they were going on about, Bakugo merely picked up Morgana by the scruff and held him up to Kirishima while he thrashed violently. “The fuck do you think this is?”

“Beats me—”

“Please, unhand him!” Haru rushed forward to take Morgana into her hands, but Bakugo held him just out of reach.

“Tell us what’s going on.”

“I… I mustn’t! A Beauty Thief never betrays her secrets! Just leave at once!”

“Beauty… thief?”

Kirishima looked at Bakugo. “Could she be a Phantom Thief?”

Morgana took advantage of their confusion to kick Bakugo in the head and jump out of his grip. As the teenager hissed in anger and pain, Morgana looked to Haru.

“This is bad. You can’t let them learn your identity so easily!”

“We’re not going anywhere until we figure out what’s going on,” Bakugo said, firmly. “Cat and Thief. Spill.”

Morgana looked at Haru, who returned the same glance. “You’re in a Palace, okay?”

“Uhhh, it’s pretty clearly a space station—” Kirishima cocked his head.

“No, dummy!” Morgana was already exasperated. “You’re in someone’s cognition— their mind! You’re viewing their distorted desires in a spacial form! I don’t know how you got here, but please, get out for your own safety!”

“So you are phantom thieves… that’s their M.O., isn’t it? Changing people from the inside?” Kirishima asked Bakugo.

Haru shook her head. “I have no affiliation with that group! I am my own Thief, thank you!”

“You seem familiar…”

Haru backed up, raising her hands. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“We don’t have time for this! Shadows are heading this way!”

“Shadows…?”

Before Bakugo could say another word, a robot-like creature approached, exploding into a cacophony of black and red ether, forming into a shadow. More followed suit, and Morgana and Haru got ready to fight. “Bad guys! Just stay behind us, we’ll—”

Bakugo charged forward and grasped one by the face, blowing it up in a single go. Kirishima hardened his skin, throwing a fist at another. Morgana jumped into the fray as Haru stood back, her Persona not yet fully awakened. To see them fight without even knowing what was coming at them was… baffling, to say the least, but they mopped up the competition quickly. 

“… I guess your average quirk-user with a strong enough quirk can survive in a Palace, but I don’t know for how long,” Morgana said eventually, smoothing their fur from the fight. “Please leave, okay? Forget this ever happened.”

“As if we’d ever do something stupid like that!” Bakugo snapped back, planting his shoe on Morgana’s head. “Whose mind are we in, huh? No way I’m letting a chance like this slip by me—”

Haru folded her hands behind her back. “It’s my father’s…”

Kirishima looked at her, his expression softening. “Your dad’s?”

“We’re trying to change him, but we aren’t affiliated with the Phantom Thieves, promise!”

“Who’s your dad?” Kirishima approached her, but only by a few steps.

“If I reveal that to you… I might as well be revealing my identity.”

“We won’t tell. After all, you’re not a Phantom Thief, right? You’re just, uh… using what they use?”

“‘The hell you doing sayin’ we’re not telling anybody?” Bakugo barked at Kirishima, who seemed more concerned with Haru at the moment.

“I am… Haru Okumura.”

“Beauty Thief, what are you doing!?” Morgana shouted, even under the abuse Bakugo was giving him.

“I am here to change my father’s opinion about an arranged marriage. That is why I will take his heart!”

Kirishima and Bakugo fell quiet. If she really wasn’t a phantom thief, and she was the daughter of the guy who was number one on the Phan-site charts…

“Hey, we won’t tell,” Kirishima promised. “You’re not a thief yet.”

“…” Bakugo had fallen silent.

“Now will you please, get OUT of here—” Morgana gasped, but it was too late. A door had opened behind them, but this time, no shadows. The Phantom Thieves had found Morgana, along with three strangers. Two of them in UA uniforms.

“Uh-oh,” Futaba chimed in. “This is bad! Like really, really bad!”

“Who are they?” Makoto asked.

“Uhhh, not Persona users,” Futaba tapped a screen manifested by her persona. “At least, not the two guys. I’m sensing one from the girl, but it’s weak.”

Kirishima looked at Bakugo. “Are they—”

“The real Phantom Thieves? Looks like it.”

Akira stuck his hands in his pockets, waiting for the first move. How to explain this, what to do— Morgana sighed.

“We have to tell them, or they’ll never leave.”

“Can we trust them?”

“Uh, no—” Ryuji said, bluntly. “They’re UA students. You know, heroes? They could go tell someone the moment we—”

“We don’t have to tell them our identities! Just why they’re here!” Morgana snapped.

And so, the long explanation of the Metaverse began.

—

Kirishima looked like he’d hardly taken anything in, but Bakugo had listened intently to Joker’s every word.

“You do realize we can take this to the police?”

“Hey, I already said we weren’t—” Kirishima butted in, but Bakugo kept going.

“You Phantom Thieves have a lot of guts, but thinking we’ll butt out of your business just because you explained things to us is bullshit. You’re changing people from the inside out, and sure, everyone’s deserved it so far, but what makes you think you have that right?”

Nobody spoke, except Haru.

“If I don’t… then… all of the bad things tied to my name will never disappear. My father will never change, and I’ll be in a political marriage with a cruel person. You have to believe me— the Phantom Thieves are just, and none are more just than Morgana.”

“Haru…” Morgana murmured.

“That’s why I—”

“My precious daughter… how difficult it was to find you.”

Everyone stood up, startled, as Shadow Okumura entered the room. Kirishima muttered ‘what the hell?’ at his getup, looking like a Vader-knockoff space villain. The man beside him was none other than her fiance, and as they taunted her, she gripped her hands tightly.

“All this talk about losses and gains… our company has the reputation it does because you do nothing but use people like tools!”

“I don’t need a girl who’s been compromised by Phantom Thieves. I can’t introduce her to my father like this…” The fiance next to him chided, with a wicked grin.

“Take her as your lover, then. She needn’t be your lawful wife.”

“Very well… I accept.”

“What kind of fucked-up bullshit is this?!” Kirishima shouted from behind Haru. “You can’t seriously feel this way, can you?”

“I was raised under this company’s wealth… I even accepted a political marriage for you. This is not what we discussed! You want me to be that man’s plaything for your own political gain!”

Morgana thought, as horrible as witnessing this was, that this might be for the best— if these two UA students watched how wicked someone at heart was, how cruel he was to his daughter… if they were of noble heart, they would never turn them in.

“Why worry? You should be overjoyed you’re fulfilling your role as my daughter.”

Her fiance approached her. “Now then, why don’t you come over to my place?”

As the atmosphere shifted around him, he had totally transformed— a robot, nothing more than what Okumura had use for him. “Let’s have fun! I’ll play with you until I get bored.” He approached, leaning in. “A high school fiancee… what a turn-on!”

“How vulgar…” Haru whispered.

“No! Her persona won’t stand a chance—” Morgana shouted.

“It’ll be okay!” Futaba responded. As the robot came crashing down, a light emitted from behind Haru, the true form of her Persona. “She just hasn’t awakened fully, that’s all!”

Kirishima wanted to rush forward, but instinct in Bakugo held him back as Haru collapsed to the floor. As her persona spoke of betrayal and awakening, Haru stood up, fully accepting her power.

“Now, tell me, who shall you betray?” The elegant woman’s voice rang out.

“My heart has been set… you should know.”

Kirishima and Bakugo looked towards each other during her Persona’s ‘I am thou, thou art I—’ speech, nodding to one another, agreeing they would help in this fight.

“I should take care of this reaaaaal quick, though—” Futaba said suddenly, and without another word, they were thrust back into the real world, unable to witness the finale of Haru’s fight.

—

“Holy shit… holy shit…” Kirishima was panting, holding his knees as he quaked slightly on his feet. “Was that all… real?”

They were outside of Okumura Foods again, with no sign of the Phantom Thieves.

“Tch… they did that so when they left, we wouldn’t find out their true identities.”

“But we know one! Haru!”

Bakugo nodded. “We’ll talk to her later, assuming we can get past all the security surrounding her. And we know what the Phantom Thieves look like, now…”

“Did you recognize any of them?”

“Not with the masks. But… I missed my chance to ask why Joker was targeting Uraraka.”

“Are we going to tell everyone?”

“We aren’t.”

“Huh? But didn’t you—”

“Whatever they’re doing is their business. We hold onto this info until they start hurting people.” It seemed that the fight between Haru and her father had gotten to him. This was a fight of a good person fighting evil— even if it was her own family. Kirishima stood strong on his own two feet and grinned.

“Knew you would say that. So, we gonna check them out once they’re all out of there?”

“We should probably keep it to just Haru. The less we know about the other Phantom Thieves, the better.”

—

Haru sat elegantly in her parlor where the two boys were offered tea far too fancy for their tastes. They had demanded to be let in by security a few days later, and Haru saw them from her window. She agreed to let them in.

“Are you a real Phantom Thief now?” Kirishima asked quietly.

“I… yes. I decided to join them.”

“Tch. Did they change your dad?”

“Not yet… Palaces are a lot of work, apparently. It won’t be done without several runs to and from the inside.”

“Hey…” Kirishima leaned in. “What you’re going through sucks. You sounded like you don’t have a lot of friends, do you? What with being your father’s… asset.” He thumped his fist to his chest. “I just wanna say, you can rely on us! Or at least, me. We’ll be happy to help from the outside no matter how we can!”

“Speak for yourself,” Bakugo said, crossing his leg over his knee and leaning back on the sofa.

“Jeez, fine— then _I’ll_ be happy to help, Haru. Even if it’s just escaping this stuffy old building to hang out at the UA dorms for a while, we’ll keep your secret so long as you keep us filled in on the uh… good parts, okay?”

“As a Phantom Thief, there are things I can’t tell you entirely—”

“I know. Just… it’s weird, being in on your secret, but I got so pissed off listening to that guy talk. That part of your dad. I can’t stand by and let that go without doing something about it. So I’ll be your friend, got it?”

Haru smiled softly, betraying a blush. “Thank you… I really mean it, you’ve done a lot for me just by keeping the secret, but being my friend… that’s—”

“Oi, we have to go. The school needs us back.” Bakugo elbowed Kirishima.

“You got our numbers, right? Call us anytime!”

Haru watched as they left, watching from the window as they talked to each other walking outside, holding her hands to her chest, and praying that they would keep her secret. Hopefully… hopefully, this would all turn out for the better, so she could keep her promise on being a friend.

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was inspired by [this fanart](https://i.imgur.com/PAbB9Sj.png)! Isn't it rad?


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